Modern aircraft are increasingly complex. The complexities of these aircraft have led to an increasing need for automated fault detection systems. These fault detection systems are designed to monitor the various systems of the aircraft in an effect to detect potential faults. These systems are designed to detect these potential faults such that the potential faults can be addressed before the potential faults lead to serious system failure and possible in-flight shutdowns, take-off aborts, and delays or cancellations.
Engines are, of course, a particularly critical part of the aircraft. As such, fault detection for aircraft engines are an important part of an aircrafts fault detection system. Traditional engine fault detection has been limited to methods that are based on engine data collected at steady-state conditions. While these methods have been effective in detecting faults that exhibit symptoms during steady-state operation, they have been unable to effectively detect faults for which no symptoms arise during steady state conditions. For example, these methods are unable to effectively detect faults where the feedback control action in steady state suppresses the effect of sensor and system faults. Other faults may simply not manifest symptoms during steady state operation. Thus in all these case current fault detection systems are unable to consistently detect all potential faults that can effect the operation of the engine. This is particularly true for incipient faults that often are manifest only in engine startup characteristics.
Thus, what is needed is an improved system and method for detecting engine faults that occur in transient conditions, such as during engine startup.